A product typically passes through various points in a “supply chain” between a producer of the product and a consumer. For example, a product might start at a factory an then be shipped to a warehouse in another country. The product might then be transported to a retail store and eventually sold to a consumer.
In some cases, counterfeiting, or the unauthorized and/or illegal copying of a product, may cause considerable economic damage to a company or even a greater economy. For example, an unauthorized copy of a luxury item might be inserted into the supply chain between a warehouse and a retail store. To help detect such counterfeiting, a company might try to make the product more difficult to accurately copy (e.g., by incorporating a hologram). These approaches may be of only limited use, however (e.g., because a retailer or consumer might not carefully inspect products).
As another approach to deter counterfeiting, a product code might be associated with authentic products. These codes might then be used to monitor the movement of products through a supply chain. For example, the Electronic Product Code (EPC) global network uses EPC Information Services (EPCIS) to help gather data that be used to track and trace the movement of products. The presence of a valid product code can then be used to verify that a product is not counterfeit. In such cases, it may be simple to detect when a counterfeiter has simply omitted a product code or used a completely fictional code.
There are a number of other techniques, however, that counterfeiters can use to avoid detection when codes are applied to products. For example, in a “transfer” strategy a counterfeiter might take a product code from a genuine item and transfer that same code to a counterfeit item. Similarly, in a “reuse” strategy the counterfeiter might copy a product code of a genuine item and re-used that code in connection with a counterfeit item (that is, compared to the “transfer” strategy a “reuse” strategy may be associated with removing an item identifier from an item that has been observed to be destroyed). As still another approach, a counterfeiter might employ a “randomize” strategy in which a random product code is generated and assigned to a counterfeit item (e.g., the random code might have a valid front portion but a randomized serial number). In other cases, a “duplicate” strategy might be tried where the counterfeiter duplicates an authentic product code and attaches it to multiple counterfeit items.
Approaches that may improve the ability of a user to view information about items moving through a supply chain could, therefore, be desirable. Moreover, it may be advantageous to provide one or more tools that facilitate a user's ability to detect potential counterfeit items in an efficient and convenient manner.